


Green Tinted Glasses

by TardisInWonderland



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-07
Updated: 2014-01-07
Packaged: 2018-01-07 21:37:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1124648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisInWonderland/pseuds/TardisInWonderland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wizard of Oz AU for the Rumbelle Secret Santa</p><p>Belle's village has a slight... deadly dragon... flying monkey... undefinable huge beast... ok, so her village has a lot of problems, and none of them are <i>slight</i>. She goes to see the one person who can supposedly help her save her town- the Wizard of Oz. However, things around the Emerald City aren't all they're cracked up to be, and the Wizard isn't what she expects.</p><p>Title is a play on "seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Green Tinted Glasses

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: Secret Santa (very late, but she knows what’s happening and I owe her so much thanks for being understanding) for booksandbelles. I decided to post this in chapter format for several different reasons, mostly because it’s good motivation to crank this thing out. I’m kind of compiling details from bits and pieces of Oz renditions to create this version of Oz, but here are some things worth mentioning:
> 
> \-- In the original book, the citizens of the Emerald City wore green glasses/goggles while they were in the city and could not remove them. The city wasn't really green, but they had lived there so long with the glasses on that they started to think it was.
> 
> \-- [This](http://me2ublog.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/wicked_map.jpg) is the map reference I’m using (from Gregory Maguire’s book series).
> 
> Most of all, thanks so much to Serena. You gave me the push I needed to start writing again.

Belle was absolutely, positively, bet-your-last-emerald-dollar certain that something was going on with the Wizard.

She hadn’t been working for the man very long, maybe a month now, but it was long enough to tell that something fishy was happening. The usual loud, booming voice that could be heard throughout the halls when someone ran from the throne room had dimmed to a menacing whisper (though still just as terrifying when accompanied by blasts of fire) several days ago. He usually refused to see anyone, but as of this morning he refused to see anyone _at all_ \- a very big difference, mind you. Not to mention that security around the Emerald City was going to hell in a handbasket, and there was something about a little girl with red shoes causing a political uprising that needed to be dealt with ASAP.

And the Wicked Witch had come calling for him.

Personally.

 _Twice_.

Belle doubted she was going to get over the sight of the Witch’s green skin at the door anytime soon. At first she thought it was just the green glasses… but then she noticed the broom… and the hat… and the _chin_ , good _lord_ …

Oh, and then there was the little fact that there never really seemed to be anyone else around. No matter which way she walked, or how far she walked, there were never any other people on this floor. There were some downstairs, in the lower part of the shimmering green castle, where all the food preparation was done and where newcomers came for haircuts and new clothes and the like, but none here. In fact, the one time she’d even caught a glimpse of the assignment sheet, hers was the only name associated with this area. In fact, upon further investigation, she was the only one allowed above the fourth floor besides the Wizard, and the castle stretched at least twenty stories high.

It was really rather frustrating.

There were creaking doors, phantom winds, and ghostly giggles that chased her down the hallways. The glistening, pale green corridors wove through the castle in odd patterns and with hidden passages at every turn. Heavy, velvet curtains draped all around in odd places concealed beautiful stained glass windows, balconies with locked glass doors overlooking all of Oz, entrances to strange areas of the castle, and once just a giant, ragged hole in the wall.

Belle hadn’t been very happy when she’d nearly stepped out into open air about fifteen stories up. Whenever she made a deal with the Wizard, she hadn’t exactly counted on the quirks… Then again, she’d been counting on more important things at the time.

Her town was slowly being torn apart by beasts from the Dark Forest, horrible monsters that they could do nothing to defend against, and it was finally decided that someone needed to go to see the Wizard and ask for help. Belle volunteered- she wasn’t strong, and though she was a fair marksman there were plenty of archers out on the battlefield already. She couldn’t help much besides tending the wounded, and there were plenty of people to help with that.

However, one thing Belle did have was intelligence. She was clever, and most of the town thought she might be able to bargain with him in order to get help for the town without sending them into a mountain of debt for the Great and Powerful Wizard, who tended to charge dearly for his services.

Some said his power came because he was from another world. Others said he was gifted from birth with magic beyond explanation… but all magic comes with a price- in every world, everywhere, all throughout history. Some of the greatest stories ever known come from those who pay the highest price for it.

But Belle wanted a solution, not a story, and in a way it was her chance to be a hero. Do the brave thing, and bravery will follow.

The brave thing, however, wasn’t just the journey to the Emerald City. After traveling the dangerous roads, dealing with all sorts of lions, tigers, and bears along the way, she finally made it to the Wizard’s throne room, and the price… it wasn’t what she expected.

 

_“And what will you give me in return?”_

_The Wizard was massive, at least Twice the size of Belle herself, and he carried a huge, golden staff. His face was obscured under a hooded robe, giving him the appearance of the reaper. Even though she couldn’t see his eyes, the weight of his gaze sent cold chills down her spine._

_They said he looked different to everyone who saw him, and she couldn’t help but wonder how he chose this form for her._

_“We are-”_

_“No. Not_ we _._ You _. If you are prepared to come here to save your town, you must be prepared to pay the price.”_

_“I have nothing left to give,” Belle said softly, her shoulders slumping. All she brought along with her besides the clothes on her back was a little food and a little coin, both entirely gone now. She had her cloak, her dress, and herself. That was all._

_The Wizard gave a dramatic sigh._

_“Out.”_

_“What?” Belle looked up suddenly._

_“Get out,” the Wizard said, more slowly this time, as if he was talking to a particularly dense child. “You come to bargain but bring nothing along. You are_ wasting my time _.”_

_“Wait, please-”_

_“GUARDS!”_

_Belle tried to argue, but two guards in full uniform grabbed her arms and dragged her towards the door. She did her best to struggle away, but she couldn’t break their hold._

_“Have a_ lovely _evening, Miss French.” The Wizard waved her away offhandedly._

_Belle panicked. She had to think of something, and quickly. What did she have, what did she have…?!_

_“You can have me!” Belle’s shout echoed through the huge chamber even as the guards continued to walk away, but suddenly the Wizard held up a hand. The guards immediately stopped walking and released their grip. She fell to the floor with a painful thud._

_“I’m listening.” The Wizard settled back in his seat, waiting._

_“I- I can clean,” Belle stuttered, “and cook. And I’m not half-bad at sewing, and I could help around the- er- castle, and-”_

_“Are you offering to come and work for me in exchange for saving your town?”_

_“Um… yes?” Much to her dismay, the last came out as more of a squeak._

_“I have guards and maids and hairdressers and cooks, and anything and anyone I want at my disposal whenever I should want them. What makes you think I would want a girl like you?”_

_“It’s all I have.” Belle forced herself to look up at him, staring into the darkness under his hood with all the courage she could muster._

_“It’s forever.”_

_Belle nodded without hesitation. She couldn’t afford to think too much about this right now- the safety of many was more important than the life of one._

_“I don’t need you,” he repeated, “I don’t need you at all, but I like your spark… so I’ll take your deal. You start tomorrow. I’ll send word to your family.”_

_“And the town will be safe?” Belle asked, just to clarify that she wasn’t going through with this for nothing._

_“Yes.” If she didn’t know better, she’d say he was nodding under that robe. “Now, go. Leave me in peace.”_

Belle hadn’t been in the throne room since.

The rest of the staff lived in apartments out in the city with their family or friends or random roommates that could help to pay the rent, but Belle was given a room inside the castle on one of the highest floors. The room came complete with a large, plush bed, a bathroom of her own with a tub and sink, a desk, and a small bookshelf with a few of the standard assorted volumes- histories, classic novels, and one or two books of fairy tales. She’d read them all within a few days.

For someone who was in all senses a servant for life, Belle didn’t have very many daily tasks. If the Wizard wanted a particular task to be done, he would leave her a note on her desk in green ink describing what needed to be done and how quickly she should do it. Sometimes they were as simple as “Rosetta needs help in the kitchen today” or “A window broke last night in the storm- clean up and dispose of the glass by noon,” but every so often there was one as complicated as “I’ve left a recipe for a potion on the table in the lab. Use the attached directions to get there, mix it, and leave it outside my door. Don’t blow up anything.”

Not blowing up anything (or setting anything on fire, or accidentally creating a hole in the floor with something that was really quite corrosive) was harder than it might sound. It was good to know that the Wizard was actually a _Wizard_ , though…. Besides his few instructions, the time was hers to spend as she liked, roaming around the castle or looking out over the balcony at the city.

Oh, and that was another thing: The Emerald City wasn’t actually _green_.

One of the first lists of instructions she received dictated that she should take off “those ridiculous glasses” that everyone inside the Emerald City wore, and the effect was a little surprising. The city walls were still green, and so was the Wizard’s castle itself, but the rest of the city was just… well, it was a city. A particularly large, bustling city that suffered from a little more mismatching and patchworking in the way of colors than you might think, but she mostly attributed that to the glasses tinting everything a shade of green.

It was rather eye-opening just to look out the windows and see something without all the splendor and false wonder draped around it, not because it was disappointing or disheartening to know that what you believed was a lie, but because it allowed you to see the real beauty in what you were looking at. Little people living their little lives, and though their ignorance was saddening, it was almost… beautiful, in a way. They were so happy with their illusion.

She wondered sometimes who dictated that everyone must wear the glasses, but it was a little pointless to wonder about. None of the histories made it clear and no one knew for sure. Sometimes, when Belle worked downstairs, she put the glasses back on, but she preferred to leave them off. Inside the castle there was no need, anyways. Everything here was already green and silver, from the walls to the tassels on the curtains. Sometimes the guards gave her strange looks for not wearing the glasses, but that was alright. There were lots of times Belle was positive the guards thought she was absolutely insane…

Take today, for instance. She was walking by the Wizard’s throne room and heard an unholy amount of coughing, so she stopped to listen at the door.

 

_“Um… don’t you think he might be sick?”_

_“He’s the Great and Powerful Wizard. He doesn’t get sick.”_

_“Everyone gets sick.”_

_“Not him.”_

 

She’d simply rolled her eyes and continued walking, making a mental note to snoop around later. The Wizard was sick, she was sure of it, and probably too stubborn to ask for help when he needed it. The only issue was finding a time when there weren’t guards around everywhere so she could sneak in…

You know what? That wasn’t actually going to happen, and it’s not like he could fire her, so in that moment Belle did a very rash, very ill-advised thing that turned out to be one of the best decisions of her life.

She just barged in the doors.

They weren’t locked, which was a bit surprising, and even more surprising was the fact that the throne room seemed to be completely empty.

“Hello?” Belle called, looking around. There was a whirring sound to her left, and a weak voice wafted through the air.

“Yes, yes, I am the Great and Powerful and- um- _invisible_ Wiza- a- _ACHOO_!” The sneeze was shortly followed by a fit of coughing. Belle walked towards the sound, coming from behind the green curtains to her left. She was surprised to hear the guards rattling at the doors behind her, unable to get inside. Were they locked? That was impossible, wasn’t it…?

“No, no, no!” The Wizard’s frantic voice cried out. “Pay no attention to the-” but Belle pulled open the curtain at that point.

There was a man there, sitting on a stool in a box full of controls. His suit was worn and patched, seemingly drained of all color by the sun or many cleanings, and his sandy brown hair was shot through with silver. He had a cane leaning up against the side of the booth, and he shook with a coughing spasm even as he tried to shoo her away.

“You’re the Wizard?” Belle asked, though it came out as more of a statement than a question. The man nodded, unable to answer for coughing. Belle pressed a hand to his forehead tentatively. “You’re burning up! Come on, let’s get you to bed.” She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and tried to help him stand, but he pushed her away again.

“I am perfectly fine, thank you! Get off me-” but Belle just rolled her eyes and helped him up from his chair.

“You’re sick. You need to rest, and you need care.”

“I don’t need rest, I don’t need care, and I especially do not need _you_!” He broke free of her hold, snatched his cane, and took two staggering steps forward before falling over entirely.

He was snoring before he even hit the ground.

What on earth had she gotten herself into?


End file.
